Bill Jackson is a man with a mission. He wants the rest of the world to see what he sees: the natural beauty and mystery of the Delta, and its swamps, especially. Speaking of his series of moody, rich swamp paintings, Jackson says, “The Delta is known as being flat and uninspiring, but I like painting the swamps and making this part of the world look cool. I want people to look at my paintings and say, ‘Wow, that’s the Delta?’”
The 45-year-old artist’s fresh perspective and appreciation of his homeland comes after years of living elsewhere, principally the Florida Gulf Coast. Jackson attended Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, then began a short-lived career as a graphic designer before joining the army so he could pursue his dream of skydiving full-time with the army’s parachute team, the Golden Knights. He spent 13 years with the Knights, winning world competitions and was named the Golden Knight of the Year in 1992.
The Golden Knights traditionally hand out an autographed team photograph to sponsors and supporters, which inspired Jackson to create a painting for the same purpose. One painting led to another, and the positive response to the lithographs helped build his confidence as an artist. With support and encouragement from close friends in Florida, Jackson moved back home to Drew in early 2004 so he could paint full-time.
One constant that ties together his time with the Golden Knights and his development as an artist is Jackson’s lifelong pursuit of a challenge and his focus on the journey: “The Golden Knights, even though it’s a competitive team, was never about winning to me. It was about the journey– the experiences and the people. As a kid, I started drawing because I couldn’t, and it was a big challenge to prove to myself and to others that I could. I want to always progress, always move forward, always learn something new.”
Currently, Jackson’s focus is color and light: “Light is so important and improving my use of light is one of my goals, which Sammy Britt is helping me with. I can make things look real, but now my challenge is to get the light right–what I call the ‘wow effect.’”
Britt, a renowned painter, workshop teacher and professor of art at Delta State University, praises Jackson: “When Bill first came to me, my main suggestion was that he work more directly from life, to study light and color in a natural setting. One thing I really like about Bill is that he’s very humble, and interested and open to learning. He’s always challenging himself to develop more as an artist.”
Another goal of Jackson’s is to have his own show. Jackson, who describes himself as “slow as Christmas,” says, “Right now, I finish a painting, take it to Brown’s [Fine Art & Framing in Jackson] and Joel [Brown] sells it for me.” Brown, who has been working with Jackson for four to five years, says “Bill’s paintings tend to sell right away, so it might take him a while to build up a big enough body of work to plan a show, but it would make people hungry for his work.”
Jackson is grateful for people like Britt and Brown who push him to develop as an artist: “When I finish a painting, I want people to walk into a gallery and stop in front of my painting and stay there because my painting has grabbed them.” That’s exactly what Brown says often happens, “People do stop in their tracks, captivated by the Sunflower River swamps and cypress trees. People think even the very large canvasses are photographs because Bill paints with such detail. He’s a young, emerging artist, with a lot of untapped talent in him. I feel sure he’ll be a force in Mississippi art for years to come.”
Stay tuned for the next leg of his journey at www.billjackson.net.
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